The present invention relates generally to accessories for home aquariums and more particularly to such accessories which provide means for filtering and aerating the water used in the aquarium.
Both filtering and aerating devices for use in home aquariums are of course well known in the art. One type of typical filtering device previously known includes a housing containing filtering material to be submerged within an aquarium and to which is attached tubing for drawing water from the aquarium into the filter housing. A separate pump which can be mounted externally of the aquarium, is connected to the tubing to provide the necessary power to draw the water through the filter. Alternatively, filtering devices having a filter container intended to be mounted on the side of an aquarium with means extending below the surface of the water for drawing the water into the container have also been suggested. One such type of filtering device which is intended to be mounted on the side of an aquarium is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,344. This device includes a screw type elevator tube extending below the surface of the water in the aquarium. The elevator is driven by a motor supported within the housing. The motor drives the screw type elevator to draw water up into the filter housing. A deflector mounted on the motor shaft protects the motor from water drawn into the filter.
Existing aerating devices are also known in the art and usually include air pumping means connected to tubing extending below the surface of the water in the aquarium. The tubing is typically connected to airstones or other ornamental objects placed at the bottom of the aquarium.
The aquarist who desires to provide both filtering and aerating devices is required to obtain separate devices to accomplish each function. A separate air pump and a separate filtering device would have to be mounted on and about the aquarium to provide both the aerating and filtering functions. This tends to be costly since separate purchases are required. The use of numerous accessories on and about an aquarium also tends to be objectionable in that the aquarium becomes cluttered with accessories.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a combined aerating and filtering device for use on an aquarium which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art requiring separate devices for each function.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide in a combined filtering and aerating device, a single motor having a motor shaft driving at one end thereof a filter pump for drawing water from the aquarium through a filtering material, and driving at the other end thereof an air pump to provide aeration into the aquarium.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings to be described more fully hereinafter.